DESIGN OF ELECTRICAL

MACHINES
UNIT I

DESIGN OF MACHINES

Design of Machines may be

defined as a creative physical
realization of theoretical concepts

Engineering design is application

of science, technology and
invention to produce machines to
perform specified tasks with
optimum economy and efficiency

Engineering is the economical

application of scientific principles
to practical design problems. If a
problem of cost and durability are
omitted from a problem, the results
obtained have no engineering
value.

Major consideration to evolve

a good design
Cost
Durability
Compliance with performance criteria

Design factors

The mechanical force required for

movement in rotating electrical
machines can be produced by
Electrostatic and Electromagnetic
fields.
Since both the fields store energy

 In electrostatic machines, the energy density is

limited by the dielectric strength of the

medium.
For example, if air is used as the dielectric
medium, the energy intensity is 3 MV / m (on
account of dielectric breakdown)
The equivalent energy density is
40 J / m2.

 In electromagnetic machines, magnetic

effect used for production of force and there

is no comparable restriction in magnetic
fields.
The maximum value of flux density that
can be used is about 1.6 Wb / m2.
The equivalent energy density is 1 MJ / m2.

PARTS OF THE ROTATING

MACHINES

Magnetic circuit
Electric circuit
Dielectric circuit
Thermal circuit
Mechanical parts

LIMITATIONS IN DESIGN
Saturation. The maximum allowable flux density

to be used is determined by the saturation level of

the ferromagnetic material.
Temperature rise. The operating life of the
machine depends upon the type of insulating
materials used in its construction and the life of
the insulating material depends upon the
temperature rise of the machine.

 Insulation. The insulating material used in a

machine should be able to withstand the

electrical, mechanical and thermal stresses,
which are produced bin the machine.
Efficiency. The efficiency of a machine should
be as high as possible to reduce the operating
costs.

 Mechanical parts. The construction should be

as simple as possible and also it is

technologically good if it is carried out using
simple and economical means with as minimum
labour as possible.
Commutation. The problem of commutation is
important in the case of commutator machines
as commutation conditions limit the output from
a machine.

 Power factor. Poor power factor results in

larger values of current for the same power and,

therefore, larger conductor sizes have to be
used.
Consumer specifications. The limitations
imposed by consumers specifications on the
design of electric machinery are obvious.

 Standard specifications. The specifications

are the biggest strain on the design. (For

Manufacturer and consumer)

MODERN TRENDS IN
DESIGN OF ELECTRIC
MACHINES
The process of design of a single machine

may be delivered into three major design

problems.
1. Electromagnetic design
2. Mechanical design
3. Thermal design

These problems may be resolved

separately and the results combined

later on.

MODERN MACHINE
MANUFACTURING
TECHNIQUES
Small size machines (Up to 750 watts )
Medium size machines (Few kW to 250 kW)
Large size machines (250 kW to 5000 kW)
Larger size machines (Hundreds of Mega watts)

High conductivity materials

These materials are used for making all types

of windings, apparatus and devices.

As well as for transmission and distribution of
electrical energy

High resistivity material

These materials are used for making

resistances and heating devices.

High conductivity materials

The fundamental requirements to be met by

high conductivity materials are

Highest possible conductivity
Least possible temperature co-efficient
Adequate mechanical strength
Roll ability and draw ability
Good weld ability and solderibility
Adequate resistance to corrosion

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
MATERIALS
Electrical conducting materials. Materials

serving as electrical conductors can be

divided into main groups.
1. High conductivity materials
2. High resistivity material (Alloys)

Copper
Copper is most widely used electrical conductor

combining, high electrical conductivity with

excellent mechanical properties.
Relative immunity from oxidation and corrosion
under service conditions.
Most electrical machines employ windings of
annealed high conductivity copper.
The International Annealed Copper Standard
(ICAS) has at 20o C

Properties of Annealed Copper

Sl. No.

Characteristic

Copper

Density kg / m2

8900

Melting point, o C

1083

Thermal conductivity W/m o C

350

Resistivity, m

0.01724 10 - 6

Resistance temperature coefficient at 20 C

0.00393

Co-efficient of thermal expansion

at 20 C / C

16.7 10 - 6

Specific heat, J / kg - C

390

Specific strength MN / m2

220 - 250

Aluminium
Aluminium is joining ever increasing applications

for a number of economic reasons and

engineering reasons.
Primarily the high demand for conductor
materials which cannot be met by copper
production alone.
Therefore, aluminium is the conductor material
next to copper is used.

Properties of Aluminium
Sl. No.

Characteristic

Aluminium

Density kg / m2

2700

Melting point, o C

660

Thermal conductivity W/m o C

200

Resistivity, m

0.0287 10 - 6

Resistance temperature coefficient at 20 C

0.0039

Co-efficient of thermal
expansion at 20 C / C

25.5 10 - 6

Specific heat, J / kg - C

920

Specific strength MN / m2

920

Comparison of copper and aluminium

wires

Sl. No.

Item

Copper

Aluminium

Cost

0.49 Pc/Pa

Cross section

1.62

Diameter

1.27

Volume

2.04

Weight

0.49

Breaking strength

0.64

Pc Unit price by weight of copper

Pa Unit price by weight of aluminium

 For 100kW of induction motor squirrel cage

manufactured by aluminium.
Super annealed aluminium wires are used in for
stator windings of small motor.
Aluminium is also used for transformer windings.
Now aluminium is used for transformer tanks.

Iron and steel

Steel alloyed with chromium and aluminium is

used for making starter rheostats where lightness

combined with robustness and good heat
dissipation are important considerations.
Cast iron is used in the manufacture of resistance
grids to be used in the starters of large motors.

Alloys of copper
Bronze Copper based alloys containing tin,

cadmium, beryllium and certain other metals are

generally called Bronze.
Beryllium copper The addition of 1 2.5 % of
beryllium to copper makes a hard alloy. It is used
for manufacturing current carrying springs and
contact strips.
Cadmium copper Alloy containing 1.1 % of
cadmium give wires which are stiffer , harder
and higher tensile strength than hard drawn

 Brass It contains 66 % of copper and 34 % of

zinc. It is used to manufacture the current

carrying and structural materials.
Copper silver alloy This alloy contains 99.10
% of copper and 0.06 to 0.1 % of silver. It has a
resistivity of 0.01814 10 -6 m. Silver bearing
copper is used in turbo alternators because of its
resistance to thermal shortening and creep.

Properties of copper alloys

Sl.
No
1

Material

State

Resistivity

Cadmium
copper (0.9 %
Cd)
Bronze (Cd
0.8 % & Sn
0.6 %)
Beryllium
copper (Be
2.25 %)
Brass (Cu 70
% & Zn 30 %)

Annealed 1.05

Tensile strength
MN / m2
Upto 300

Hard

Upto 715

1.1 to 1.2

Annealed 1.65 to 1.8 Upto 280

Hard

1.8 to 2

Upto 715

Annealed 6.0

480 to 590

Hard

3.3

90 to 1080

Annealed 4.0

340 to 510

Hard

Upto 860

4.0

Materials of high resistivity

Conductors of high resistance are used where it

is actually desired to dissipate electrical energy

as heat.
Materials of high resistivity are primarily
alloys of different metals.
Among metals that have been used are nickel,
silver and iron.
They can be classified as follows

 Materials used for precision work

Materials used for Rheostats
Materials used for Heating devices

Materials used for Rheostats

The resistance materials used fin making can have

a large thermo emf and a large temperature coefficient.

The principal alloy in this group is constantan
consisting of copper (60 65 %) and Nickel (35 40 %).
Manganese and Iron also included.
Soft constantan and hard constantan wire have
resistivity of 0.46 to 0.53 10 -6 m.
The resistance temperature coefficient is near zero

Materials used for Heating devices

High working temperature resistance materials

are alloys of Nickel, chromium and iron called

Nichrome and alloy of aluminium, iron and
chromium.
The resistivity of Nichrome varies from 1.1 to
1.27 10 -6 m.
The working temperature for Nichrome wire is
900 to 1000 C

Electrical carbon material

Electrical carbon materials are

manufactured from graphite and other forms

of carbon coal.
The conductivity of carbon used is slightly
less than metals and alloys.
It is used for making brushes for electrical
machines.

Super conductivity
Very few electromechanical devices are built using

only current carrying conductors.

With copper or aluminium conductors at normal
operating temperature current densities must
generally be limited to 1 to 10 A / mm2.
Materials exhibiting zero value of resistivity are
known as super conductors.
A large number of metals become super conducting
below a particular temperature characteristics of the
particular metal.
This temperature is known as transition temperature.

MAGNETIC MATERIAL

Ferromagnetic material (Permeability > 1)

Paramagnetic material (Permeability slightly >

1)
Diamagnetic material (Permeability < 1)

TYPES OF MAGNETIC MATERIAL

Soft magnetic materials

Hard magnetic materials

Soft magnetic materials

Solid core materials

Electrical sheet and strip

Special purpose alloys

Solid core materials

Iron, low carbon and silicon steel
Cast iron
Gray cast iron
Cast steel
Soft steel

Ferro-cobalt

Electrical sheet and strip

Earlier days sheet was manufactured by iron,

low content of carbon and other impurities.

Now a days silicon steel is used

Special purpose alloys

Mumetal
Permalloys
Superpermalloy
Perminvar
Permendur

Properties of special purpose alloys

Sl. No.

Properties

Mumetal

Permendur

Initial relative permeability

40000

1000

Maximum relative permeability

120000

7000

Saturation density, Wb / m2

0.8

2.36

Remanence from saturation,

Wb / m2

0.47

1.5

Co-ercive force, A / m

0.2

16.0

Co-efficient of linear
expansion, / C

13 10 -6

9 10 -6

Resistivity, m

0.6 10 -6

0.47 10 -6

Density, kg / m2

8800

8050

Specific heat J / kg - C

439

Insulating materials
Insulating materials or insulants are extremely

diverse in origin and properties.

They are essentially non metallic, organic or
non organic, uniform or heterogeneous in
composition, natural or synthetic.
Many of them are natural origin as paper,
cloth, paraffin wax and natural resins.
Wide use is made of the insulating materials
such as glass, ceramics and mica.

Electrical properties of Insulating

materials
High dielectric strength
High resistivity

Low dielectric hysteresis

Good thermal conductivity
High degree of thermal stability

Classification of Insulating materials

The recognized classes of insulating materials

and the temperature assigned to them are

Class Y
90 C
Class A
105 C
Class E
120 C
Class B
130 C
Class F
155 C
Class H
180 C
Class C
above 180 C

 Class Y Consists of materials such as cotton,

silk, and paper without impregnation.

Class A Consists of materials such as cotton,
silk and paper when suitably impregnated or
coated when immersed in liquid such as oil.
Class E Consists of materials or combination
materials which accepted test can be shown to
be capable of operating at E temperature.

 Class B Consists of materials or combination

of materials such as mica, glass fiber, asbestos,

etc with suitable bonding agent.
Class F Consists of materials such as mica,
glass fiber, asbestos, etc with suitable bonding
agent.
Class H Consists of materials such as silicon
elastomer and combination of mica, glass
fiber, asbestos, etc.

 Class C Consists of materials such as mica,

Porcelin, glass and quartz with or without an

organic binder.

Examples of various classes of insulating

materials
Class Y Cotton, silk, paper, cellulose,

wood etc.
Class A Materials of class Y impregnated
with natural resins, cellulose esters,
insulating oils, laminated wood and
varnished papers.
Class E Synthetic resin enamels, cotton
and paper laminates with formaldehyde
bonding

 Class B Mica, glass fiber, asbestos with

suitable bonding substance.

Class F Materials of class B with bonding
materials of higher thermal stability.
Class H Glass fiber and asbestos materials,
built up mica with silicon resins.
Class C Mica, ceramics, glass, quartz
without binders or silicon resins of higher
thermal stability.

Insulating electrical materials used in

modern electric machines
Mica
Micafolium
Fibrous Glass
Asbestos
Cotton Fiber
Polyamides
Synthetic resin enamels
Slot lining materials
Wood

Silicones
Epoxide thermo

setting resins
Synthetic resin
Petroleum based
mineral oils
Askarels

Applications of insulating
materials
Wires for magnetic coils and winding of

machines.
Laminations
Machines and transformer

Wires for magnetic coils and

winding of machines
Enamel covering
Cotton covering

Silk covering
Fibrous glass covering
Asbestos covering

Insulating materials for

laminations
Insuline
Oxide
Varnish

Insulating materials for machines

Cotton and oiled Cambric tapes (Class A)
Tough Fibrous materials (Class A)
Nylon and Terylene (Class A)
Fibrous glass tape (Class B)
Asbestos tapes (Class B)

Mica (Class B)

Insulating materials for transformers

Class A type materials are used.

CHOICE OF SPECIFIC MAGNETIC

LOADING

Magnetic flux density in iron parts of machine

Magnetizing current
Core losses

CHOICE OF SPECIFIC ELECTRIC LOADING

Permissible temperature rise

Voltage rating of machine
Size of machine
Current density

FACTORS AFFECTING THE SIZE OF

THE ROTATING MACHINES

Speed

Output co-efficient